It's Biocube 32 Time

catnipthyme · 2026-06-04T21:27:16-0400

Hello, fishy friends! I am dipping my toes into the magical world of saltwater after a decade of keeping freshwater tanks, and thought it would be delightful to have a place to track my tank's progress.

I found a used Biocube 32 at a local fish store and knew it was The Tank for me. Why? The lid can support a cat, and I don't trust my four-legged companions to not jump in for a swim. I prefer the look of rimless peninsula-style tanks, but I wanted my first soiree into reefs to be cat-safe. Safe for my cats, and safe from my cats. It sat in my garage for several months before I finally got it upstairs.

Below is the tank just after being filled:

It probably would have been a better idea to start with fresh substrate and hardscape, but I decided to get rock and sand that was from already cycled tanks. It definitely sped up the process, and things seemed to have stabilized in just a few weeks. I haven't seen any unpleasant hitch-hikers, yet, but who knows what creepy crawlies are hiding in those crevices. Please disregard how mucky the outside of the tank is; I spaced on wiping off the smudges and dust before taking photos somehow.

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The First Inhabitants:

One firefish goby. (He is enjoying all the little caves, but is respectfully keeping out of the shrimps' lair.)
Two peppermint shrimp. (I can't recall what type of shrimp they are for sure. They look similar to peppermint shrimps, at least.)
One green star polyp clump. (It was very sad in the photo, since I had just gotten it out of the bag.)
One spiny star astrea snail. (I have never had a snail that moves at such a leisurely pace. I thought it was dead the first two days.)
One nassarius snail. (I have not seen him since he burrowed into the sand.)
One dwarf blue leg hermit crab that snuck in with the coral. I swear this is the smallest crab in the history of crabs. (Not seriously, but it is a really small guy. I found the shell left in a bag I was about to throw away, and put it in my hand to see if anything was in there. Tiny yellow specs that I thought were mites swarmed out of the shell and properly freaked me out for a moment before I noticed that they were attached to legs. It was so silly that I have to share the tale.)

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I went out today to get water and came home with a few new little dudes:

One mushroom on a cool-looking rock. (It nestles into the liverock SO NICELY, it was Meant To Be.)
Three dwarf blue leg hermit crabs. (I got the smallest ones I could find so they wouldn't bully the original crab.)
One astrea turbo snail. (Word on the street is these move faster than the spiny ones.)
One nerite snail. (I didn't mean to get more than one more snail, but I had never seen one with this cool marble-y blue color and I was weak.)

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The Fish Goal:

One firefish.
One Banggai cardinalfish.
One pink-streaked wrasse.
Two Panamic barnacle blennies.

I have been advised against keeping five fish in the tank, but I can't figure out which fish to leave out. I suppose I could only get one barnacle blenny, but let's be real: these little guys are the reason I am getting into saltwater, so I want several of the goobers.

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I shall continue to post pics of my tank's development, and appreciate any insight or advice people may have to offer. The tank is unmodified so far, but I ordered some grate covers to keep my wee blennies out of the filter, and will be looking at other possible mods. I would like to be able to get some chaeto growing in the back -- I gotta look into that. I also really need a small iso tank. But yes. Baby's first reef tank!

kevgib67 · 2026-06-04T21:42:39-0400

Very exciting, congratulations! I had my Biocube 32g set up for over four years before I shut it down earlier this year due to an upgrade. I’ll share my build thread link in hopes it can help you out.

Thread 'Biocube 32g build'
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/biocube-32g-build.906813/

overhead · 2026-06-04T21:42:59-0400

Biocubes are fun, I started one in March. It has been an adventure so far. I had to ditch the top because I like to keep my house warm in the summertime and it was getting too hot, otherwise I would have kept it. I decided on four total fish in my Biocube, two clowfish, Royal Gramma and Yellow Watchman Goby. That being said I have lots of snails, crabs, shrimp, etc. Personally, I would not do anymore than four. I have enough trouble keeping the fish from messing with each other with four fish, but that could just be my luck with fish personalities. Good luck with your Biocube.